The Waters of Woe

How hard can these things be? I got to clam down because this new GPS gizmo is brain damage. Adventurer 2800. The bewilderment and frustration is ...........well boclkols I am going to talk about my successes instead. My brakes, I thought I'd fixed em a couple of days ago, but I had to revisit them tonight and I have repositioned them and they working really well, better than they ever have.



I rode with Andy to check out what looked like standing stones, turns out its a ruined medieval thing called Wells Chapel? A stream runs close by known locally as 'the Waters of Woe'. This 'waters of woe' thing is lingering in my head, its a great title, a bit of a downer as I imagine a well not of healing spa waters but waters of bad luck and a whole cursed negative Tutankhaman vibe. There used to be a hamlet called 'Well' nearby and I've got this vision of the people struggling to farm the land, droughts, bad weather and poorly children. Circumstances forcing the people to move away from their small doomed community. All because they drank from this water source.





Andy's so bloody happy he's talking about early spring, magnolia buds, innovative ideas and he is dancing on those pedals. His woes are gone and he's happy. I'm working on a couple of projects which require more effort than I was willing to give, but I have stepped up a gear or two and I am turning the corner on them now. I need to win another job to fill my time for max earning capacity and Arsenal lost 3-1to Stoke. Shocker.

A wet Weekend.

Part A

The Paris Roubaix

I was out on my road bike Sat. in the rain, it was bad...and I saw the peleton coming towards me. Fella on the front out of the sadle with a river of grit running off his nose and chin. I turn round and chase onto the back of the group I look round quickly to see if I towed the straglers up as well and saw a ring of standing stones in a field? This breakaway group is hacking it and I settle down into a rythym and all I can do is watch the muddy water casscade off everyones bottom brackets onto the road. I realise a podium finish is slipping away as I know I cant help myself peeling off to the left at the T junction ahead. They go to Canturbury and I went left utterly mashed. I had to stop and turn round at this church. Patrixbourne or somewhere?





It was a couple of miles maximum back to where I saw the standing stones? Less than two, shocking....I dont know what they are? But not standing stones I think I would have seen them marked on a map. I will come back on my mountain bike and have a look at them another time.


Part B

The Mud Bath.

I met Andy and the group, we had a great ride in the mud. Andy's off in a large puddle already, then 20 minutes later were approaching another monster, he says 'How deep can it be'? What he should have said is, 'dont go through it because there is a hidden silver birch tree submerged in there'. We're both off and through the ice floating on the top.



We had 2-3 punctures and I rode over half the ride with no stopping power whatsoever, as the mud finally finished my brake pads off. I'll have to sort it. Great ride lots of chat and a lot of mud.

The two rides I've been on recently.

The ride I went on today with the group.





The ride I went on last Monday by myself.




This included Andy, who is fine and well and watched Gavin and Stacey. He also wants to ride as far as he can during the hours of daylight on the two solstices. This is a left field idea which I think should be encouraged. The North Downs Way was mentioned, something I will be thinking about very seriously as there will be a commissioned artwork at Dover marking the end of the north downs way.

Quite a bit of snow today and I have left my bike out in it?

I wrote a short play about an incident on my ride to deal.

I have writen a very short play when I tried unsuccessfully to take photos of two bi-planes which had taken off seconds before.
I had got off and tried to photograph them.

Cast
rider 1 (me)
rider 2 ( someone I have riden with before in a larger group)
Plus riders 3 and 4 accompanying rider no 2.


Rider No1
putting my camera back in my back pocket and just about to remount and carry on home.
'oh hi'
as I recognise a guy in black on a black bike.

rider no.2
'Hi rob'
slows down at the junction, then rolls across it.

I hear rider rider no.3 say...'do you want to stop'.

As rider no.2 rolls across the junction I hear him say..'No'

and all 3 riders carry on towards Hoath.